Wolfsnächte

Das Ende ergibt im Kontext zu den vorigen Beweggründen der Figuren nicht so richtig Sinn. Nach dem ganzen düsteren, irrationalen Wolf-Okkultismus in der Alaska-Wildnis ist es aber kein großes Problem. Wichtig ist, dass der Verlauf der ziemlich langen Geschichte immer spannend bleibt, die Atmosphäre überwältigend ist und immer neue überraschende Wenden der Handlung kommen. Der Film nahm mich gefangen, ähnlich wie Wind River, in dem nur alles seinen logischen Platz hatte und auf ein sinnvolleres und gedankenreicheres Finale hinsteuerte. (20.01.2019)

Over the time, I’m discovering that Netflix doesn’t mean only good movies. Sometimes it also means average movies and sometimes even bad ones. However, Hold the Dark fortunately belongs among the better part of Netflix production. It has a solid atmosphere, and if it didn’t last more than two hours, the audience wouldn’t have the time to be bored. But as it is, there are moments when the characters act like retards or worse. In the second half of the film, it however gains some pleasant momentum and the ending is nice. The action finale makes it into better average; without it, I might have thought that someone was trying to make a rip-off of Wind River. When watching this film, I didn’t know yet that ‘rip-off’ is Netflix’s favorite word. (13.04.2020)

After Blue Ruin and Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier comes up with another tough and manly indie flick that definitely deserves attention. The comparisons to Wind River are spot on. The film is set in the harsh environment of Alaska and literally spews coldness and chills in every frame. The main character played by Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) is a wolf expert called in to track down a boy who has been taken by wolves, but he soon discovers that there is more to this than meets the eye. The downside is the rather slower pace, which mainstream audiences may well not enjoy, and the fact that the story is rather strangely contrived and not all the questions are answered, which I personally don't really like either, but it is still a film that has a lot to offer. If you know the director, you know that he is no stranger to violence and gore, and he serves up some very nice shots in a few scenes. On the plus side, the performances are also great, with Alexander Skarsgård rocking and the Alaskan landscape with the wolves is more than attractive. Unconventional, but decent, especially for Netflix. 75%. (29.09.2018)

It's a shame such a pure and beautifully crafted raw survival drama has such a mind-fuck of a nothing much to say, wannabe mystery screenplay. The main plot line is lacking, but all the other features (set design, atmosphere, action sequences) are excellent. There's been a bit too much of Wind River lately, but it's still an enthralling thing. (18.10.2018)

I was looking forward to the new Wind River, but it turned out to be a disappointment. I'm probably not intellectually sophisticated enough, as I didn't really get what the film was about. It was like an abstract poem by a well-known poet, which we were supposed to analyze at school and find out what the author had meant. Just like back then, I eventually realized I didn’t really care. The only memorable moment for me was the excellently filmed fight against the machine gun nest, but the rest of the film felt like a blur of often unrelated situations and the ending went totally over my head. (29.10.2018)

An atmospheric thriller that excels with excellent action scenes and a slightly demonic Alexander Skarsgård. Comparisons to Wind River may be fitting in terms of the locations chosen and the murder mystery plot, but otherwise Hold the Dark forges its own path and is more of a meditative thriller with mystery elements than a murder mystery. The plot is told very slowly, but there are some really intense passages and the whole narrative is interestingly framed with metaphors. It's just a pity that the final impression was a bit weaker than I initially expected. (16.10.2018)